Vehicle tires, and particularly tires on which the tread has become completely or at least partially removed through wear, may have insufficient frictional engagement with a road surface under certain conditions to permit the vehicle to be propelled along road surfaces which are ice-, snow- or mud-covered. Accordingly, a number of compositions have been developed for application to the surface of a vehicle tire to increase the traction between the tire and the road surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,752,256 (Hargis, A. H., Jun. 26, 1956) relates to a composition for coating tires comprising methanol, sodium hypochlorite, sodium chloride and water. The first three components have the property of lowering the freezing temperature of water in addition to being miscible and soluble in water. Methanol acts to prepare the tire surface for application. Sodium hypochlorite, when dissolved in water and alcohol, forms a tacky film on the tire surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,921,918 (Mooney, M., Jan. 19, 1960) describes an anti-skid coating comprising wood resin, a maleic anhydride modified butadiene-acrylonitrile elastomer, a plasticizer, methanol and acetone. The plasticizer is preferably dibutyl phthalate.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,271,170 (Ahlberg, R. E. et al, Sep. 6, 1966) discloses a traction increaser consisting of rosin and polymerized 2,2,4-trimethyldihdroquinoline dissolved in a lower aliphatic organic solvent, such as methanol.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,475,205 (Byers, J. H., Oct. 28, 1969) relates to a liquid coating for rubber surfaces consisting of finely divided metallic zinc or finely divided manganese dioxide and a rubber-bonding adhesive agent to bond the particles of zinc or manganese dioxide to the rubber surface.
German Offenlegungsschrift Number 31 07 219 relates to application of an adhesive and a friction enhancing agent on vehicle tires. A damp resistant glue is applied to a tire surface and the vehicle is then run over large-grained sand to form a thick layer of sand on the tire surface.
One of the problems with prior art compositions is that, while they may be helpful in providing enough traction to allow the vehicle to start moving, they do not provide increased traction over a distance of travel. The present invention aims to overcome the problems of the prior art compositions by providing an improved composition for imparting traction properties to rubber surfaces. The traction composition of the present invention has increased wearability and is readily applied to rubber surfaces.